Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Small batch chocolate chip cookies for your next cookie craving! Make just a half batch of chocolate chip cookies the next time you need a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie!

I’m sharing this recipe today with so much love. I’ve been scaling down recipes since 2009, but it wasn’t until 2010 that I started this blog. One of the first things I wanted to share here in this space is a small batch chocolate chip cookies recipe.

If I remember correctly, small batch chocolate chip cookies were one of the first 20 recipes I shared. My actual first recipe was chocolate cream pie for two, however.

We all need chocolate chip cookies every now and then, but we almost never need four dozen of them. I still believe in the dessert for two doctrine after all of these years. A little bit of the real dessert is better than a lot of the fake stuff. Small batch desserts fit into our lives so easily!

Some of you said: why don’t you just freeze leftover dough?

While I realize I can store leftover cookie dough balls in the freezer, I cannot be trusted around frozen cookie dough. I’m one of those people that thinks frozen dough is even better than the baked cookie! Plus, if I froze every leftover batch of cookie dough, I would soon need to buy a deep freezer for additional freezer space!

It seems I cannot be trusted around a batch of cookies that makes more than one dozen cookies. I’m hoping you’re the same way as me! I’m guessing since you landed on this site, you might be. If that’s the case, welcome!

Chocolate chip cookies with shortening?!

You guys loved my original recipe for small batch chocolate chip cookies. I’m so glad that you guys think it’s so amazing to have a small recipe for cookies that you could bake whenever a cookie craving hits. And, you love that the recipe only makes 10-12 cookies, not the typical 4 dozen cookies of standard recipes.

I love that neither of us trust ourselves around leftover cookies. We’re the same, you and I.

However, my original recipe for a small batch of chocolate chip cookies contained shortening. I grew up in the South, and shortening is a common ingredient to me, when used in moderation. But, I’ve learned that most of you guys avoid shortening at all costs.

After many emails poured in asking if the recipe could be made with all butter, I finally decided to try it myself! I’m so glad I took your advice.

As it turns out, chocolate chip cookies made without shortening are amazing, and it’s possible to still have the chewy, melty, gooey cookies of our dreams. Butter is where it’s at, friends!

You’re going to love these cookies because they contain all butter and dark brown sugar. If you have my first cookbook, Dessert for Two, you can use this new formula to adapt the recipe.

If you want to keep making the original recipe with shortening, that’s perfectly fine, too friends! I’m just here to make sure you get enough cookies in your life. The original ratio is 4 tablespoons of butter to 2 tablespoons of shortening.

It would be super fun to make both recipes side by side and host a taste-test party!

Shortening makes cookies fluffy while still giving them a crisp edge. It’s magical stuff, but I understand if you don’t want to bake with it.

Tips for making small batch chocolate chip cookies:

-Use softened butter. That means butter that sits out at room temperature for about 20 minutes. You can press a finger into the butter to make an indent, but your finger will not go all the way through easily. Softened butter is not room temperature butter.

-Use dark brown sugar. The only different between light brown sugar and dark brown sugar is the molasses content. And when it comes to cookies, the more molasses, the better. Molasses makes cookies a lovely shade of golden brown, and it’s key for chewy cookies.

Another fun variation is to add orange zest to your cookies. I also want to mention that you can use any type of chocolate chips and add nuts, if you prefer your cookies that way. I have a small batch cranberry white chocolate chip cookie recipe that is a variation of this recipe.

Yield: 1 dozen

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies recipe from scratch that only makes a small batch.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time8 minutes

Total Time18 minutes

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg yolk (egg white reserved for another use)

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375. Line a light-colored baking sheet with a silicone mat.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 20 seconds.

Add the sugars, and beat for about 30 seconds. The mixture will turn a pale color and be fluffy.

Next, add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until just combined.

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a separate bowl.

Sprinkle the flour on top of the butter mixture, and beat just until combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the dough into 12 dough balls, and space them evenly on the baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, removing the cookies from the oven when the edges just start to turn golden brown.

Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 1 minute before moving them to a wire rack to cool.

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About me

Christina Lane is the author of 3 cookbooks all about cooking and baking for two. She has scaled down hundreds of recipes into smaller servings so you can enjoy your favorite dishes without the leftovers! Valentine's Day is her favorite holiday.

I stopped using shortening about 2 years ago and while I miss the texture, I don’t sure don’t miss the non-flavored, greasy film it leaves in my mouth that I never noticed before. I have removed it from pie pastry and icings also.

I can’t wait to make these cookies! They look chewy and delicious! Thanks for a great alternative!

Hi – I just went to my copy of the recipe to make the adjustment, and noticed that the older version also included instant espresso powder. I wondered, have you changed your mind about including it in the recipe, or was it left out by mistake? Do you think it makes a big difference in your recipes? I don’t have much room in my pantry, and I’ve resisted buying any yet.

Good catch, Erica! I left it out for a few reasons—mainly, people always ask me if they really have to include it. I don’t want a single optional ingredient to ever be the reason that someone passes on making a recipe of mine. But also, in this recipe, since I used dark brown sugar, I didn’t think the cookies needed it. But if you add it, it’s always extra delicious :)
Nice meeting you :)
Christina

I made this recipe and the cookies pretty much melted completely in the oven. Like, it wasn’t even cookies it was melted cookie sheet. I probably messed up somewhere along the line and I”m sure it was my own fault. Ah, I’ll try it again soon.

I made these cookies! And omg they were soooo good! I added a dash of cinnamon (personal preference) but I was so sad when they were all gone!:( how can I double the recipe without changing it? I heard that all you do is literally double everything? Idk pls help!

Nice to see the updated cookie recipe. All, just a note: I wasn’t a fan of using shortening, however, I read that you can just use REFINED coconut oil to get some health benefits vs just lard (ha). I haven’t tried it yet, but just an idea if someone wanted to maybe give Christina’s original recipe a try.

Hi there!
Sorry this is happening. It could be a few things: are you baking on a silicone mat? They tend to help cookies not spread as much. Is your cookie sheet super thin? That can cause it. Which rack are you baking on? The middle rack is best. I hope this helps! It sounds like too much heat is hitting the bottoms of the cookies, making them spread too much. Anything you can do to even out the heat flow will help :)

Just baked these in 2 different batches.
The ones I baked straight away spread out loads.
The ones I popped in the fridge overnight did not, so I am guessing that it is all about the temperature of your mixture.
The warmer it is ,the more they will spread.

Yep, it has to do with the butter. If it’s close to room temp, it’s basically oil and will spread. Chilling helps make up for the difference between our kitchen temperatures and our butter temperature when baking.

I added white chocolate as I had it on hand left over from making bark. I also placed parchment over a dark cookie sheet, again, because that’s what I have (though after we move in a few months, I’ll be investing in a lighter set). I baked for 9 minutes. The cookies are a WONDERFUL addition to my cookbook for 2! Now that our youngest has grown & moved out, my husband & I are the only ones left; well, kitty too but we don’t feed kitty cookies! Just ask her, she’ll tell you. HAH! The cookies are slightly crisp at the edges & very soft & gooey, (but not unbaked) on the inside. They are a perfect compliment to any dinner! As I am used to baking & cooking for a large family, small portions are a new concept to me (what did I do before the kids???) therefore, my cookie size is pretty large; about the size of my hand. I yielded 8 cookies which was still plenty for us. Great recipe Christina! You are fast becoming my all-time favorite baker! Looking forward to trying many more of your just-for-two recipes. <3

The last time I made chocolate chip cookies I ended up with like 5 dozen and proceeded to eat half of them myself. Delicious, but not something I want to repeat! I think I’ll try a small batch next time! ;-)

yay! I know this is a later comment, but I was looking around your website, and saw these beautiful things we call cookies. Thank you so much, cuz if I see a recipe with shortening, I skip right over it. I love your creations, and look forward to making these soon!

Hi Angie! I use just the egg yolk because this is a small batch recipe. We only need the yolk for the fat. If we added the whole egg (which is 2 tablespoons more liquid), we would have to increase the rest of the recipe too, to adjust. So save the egg white for something else. And I’m guessing the sugar seems low to you because of the small batch, too. The recipe only makes 1 dozen cookies :)

I’ve tried this recipe twice now and they came out spectacular both times. I usually just bake them until they’re golden brown. It’s also a good idea to use good quality chocolate chips, it makes it so much nicer. I’m also not a fan of using shortening! Totally recommended recipe!!

Hi! I was just wondering if it would be okay to use slightly less butter or would it change the chewiness of the cookie. Also if you are just making them on a pan without any sheets is it going to affect the bake in anyway. One last thing if you were to use all of the egg by how much would you increase all of the other ingredients?
Thanks :)

I made these yesterday and boy did I screw them up! I have no clue what I did wrong. They were flat but all the chocolate chips rose to the top. I followed the recipe exactly the only thing I did was use parchment paper instead of a mat. Do you think that could have been why they turned out like this? I included a link to a photo. Still tasted good though! I attempted the ones with the freetos and got the same result. I ended up making your white choc. macadamia nut cookies since I always have success with it and we were having people over. Thank you for all of the time and effort that you put in to providing your peeps with amazing recipes. We all appreciate it.

Oh gosh, Holly! I’m sorry this happened to you! Thanks for sending me a photo so I can better trouble shoot! To me, it looks like your oven is running a bit hot, since the cookies boiled (based on the bubbles). I just had a cookie fail today during recipe testing, and something similar happened–the cookies essentially boiled in the oven and spread way too much. I have also noticed with those baking mats, it greatly slows down cookie spread. I love that, for most cookie recipes. Sometimes, though, I want the cookie dough to spread out, though, so I’ll call for parchment paper. The silicone mats insulate the baking sheets and keep the temperature down during baking, which reduces spread. Anyway, I’m sorry this happened to you, and I hope you have better success next time! If it were me, I would lower your oven temp by 25-degrees and use a silicone mat, if you have one.

Amazing recipe. I used I can’t believe it’s not butter and I used coconut sugar and white sugar since i had no brown sugar and I mixed in dark Hershey chocolate chips with white chocolate and salted caramel chips. It doesn’t say the temperate to put your oven at? I assume it’s 350. I always add extra chips on top before baking so you see them. I made 12 cookies with this recipe.

I don’t know what the hell I did wrong I’m dying of laughter..mine does not look like the photo… Maybe it’s because I used I can’t believe it’s not butter and not actual butter . Let me tell you how my whole pan even though I spaced them out became a cookie tray u had to cut into squares. Mine taste like a box of presidents choice thin chocolate chip cookies…. I’m not going to make this again sorry.

So, ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter’ is not butter. It’s oil. It’s hydrogenated oil. And it behaves VERY differently in baking. Google it. I can not guarantee your recipe substitutions will work on my recipes. I make the recipes as you see written. Sometimes, I test recipes with substitutions and put notes in the header, but this recipe was made as you see written. Also, sometimes readers make substitutions to the recipe and leave comments to let everyone know if it will work or not. Before you make a substitution again, scroll through the comments to see if it will work or not.

Hi Christina!
Big fan over here, from Australia.
After looking at this recipe over and over again, I finally decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, my cookies spread out and ended up looking more like one giant rectangular cookie (which is still technically a small batch!). The chocolate chips also sunk, so this one big cookie looked quite sad. I followed your recipe to a T, which is something I don’t usually do with recipes.
I used a beater paddle attachment on my mixer, chilled the cookie dough for about 20 mins, and scooped 12 one tablespoon balls.
I had them in the middle of my oven (which is a larger oven, almost double the width of most ovens) on 190 C fan forced. I had them on a silicone mat.
They also ended up leaking a fair bit of oil over my mat and onto the pan, and did not rise at all- I’m talking flatter than pancakes.
Again, I made no substitutions.
Is there anything you could think of that I could change in order to get a similar result to your beautiful-looking ones?

This is such a bummer, Natasha! I am so sorry this happened to you! I have occasionally heard of this happening due to really thin cookie sheets. Like, the thin metal ones? When cookies spread too much, one way to fix it is to use a silicone mat on the pan (it evenly dispersed oven heat), add a touch extra flour and chill the dough for longer. Are you baking at high altitude, by chance?

That can’t be possible. What temperature was your butter? What did you line the pan with? Is your oven calibrated? Did you change anything about the recipe? Did you measure ingredients correctly? These cookies have been made thousands of times with great success.

I cut the recipe in half because while I would love to eat 12 cookies I also don’t want to have a heart attack. Just kidding it’s because I’m spoiled and I like to eat my cookies warm. It worked out great! I did add a tbsp of almond flour just because I like the taste. They were soft and delicious. Will def. be making again…tonight =)

Hi Nina!
Yep, you just use the egg yolk. An egg is made up of 1 tablespoon of fat (yolk) and 2 tablespoons of glue/protein (the white). We only need the fat in this recipe. If you add the whole egg, it’s too much liquid and the cookies won’t turn out. :)
Thanks for asking!

Does “softened butter” mean leave a stick of butter out so that it is room temperature when used in baking? Or throw it in the microwave for a few seconds right before you use it so that it’s not rock solid out of the fridge? I’ve made these several times putting the butter in the microwave to soften it slightly beforehand, and the cookies turned out amazing–this time I let the butter sit out on the counter to soften, and the cookies completely flattened/melted on the pan and were ruined. Reading the previous comments, other bakers seem to have had the same problem. Seems to make a big difference how soft or what temperature the butter is, and maybe your recipe could be more specific?

This is a great point, Nicola! I will definitely clarify. Softened butter is in fact what you said–left on the counter for about 30 minutes. Room temperature butter is very different! Thanks for chiming in :)

Last night my fiancé and I were craving a sweet treat (it was literally 9:45), and after following dessert for two on instagram, I knew she made things in small batches so I searched for small batch chocolate chip cookies and this recipe DELIVERED. I had all the ingredients in my pantry and poof, 18 minutes later our sweet tooth’s were satisfied. I used course sea salt (all I had) inside the cookie and sprinkled some Maldon sea salt flakes on top right before baking and they were a little salty sweet goodness ???? 12/10 recommend

I made these the other night and my son and I devoured them. Question: If I want to make a full batch or even double… do I just double the recipe (or quadruple)? Will it work out? Or do I need to add the entire egg? These were so thin and soft but crispy all at once.

With only a few chocolate chips… this small batch recipe saved the day. I used parchment and formed very small cookies which produced 24-30 cookies which I placed in 4 in each zip loc bag and froze them. I feed two men who would eat them all in one day. I hide everything from them!! Lol. Thank you.

Wow i just discovered your blog and recipes and I love it! Just wondering though, for the baking recipes maybe you could figure out how to do healthy flour swaps for low carb and gluten free followers (such as using coconut flour).

There are natural sugar substitites with 1:1 ratios of sugar (swerve, lakanto, truvia), so that takes no work at all…but the flour replacement is the only dicey part for me.

Coconut flour would probably be better tasting than almond flour in baking, but both flours have their own properties, and coconut flour needs twice as much liquid, though you only need to use about 1/3rd of the amount of regular flour.

It would be AMAAZIIIING to have low yield AND low carb baking recipes. Since you already have the low yield baking thing down, it could be a lucrative and healthy next step for you that could attract an even bigger audience. I’m about to start keto again so this weekend is my last hurrah with sweets for the next couple of months

I am soooo happy I came across your website today! It is just my husband and I at home now, so I usually have so many leftovers. Today I made the chocolate chip cookies. I followed the recipe exactly, and they turned out awesome! Crunchy on edge, yet still soft in the middle. THANK YOU!! I can’t wait to decide what to make tomorrow!

These might be the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. I added pecans and some unsweetened shredded coconut just because, but OMG, these turned out soooooo great! Will definitely be using this recipe in the future.

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